Tiktok Bans Political and Advocacy Advertising From Its Platform

Political ads clash with its "positive, refreshing environment," says Blake Chandlee, Tiktok's vice president of global business solutions

Published October 3, 2019•Updated on October 3, 2019 at 7:33 pm

Avishek Das/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

TikTok announced Thursday that it is banning all political ads, a move that sets it apart from other social media platforms that have become destinations for political ad dollars, NBC News reports.

TikTok is a smartphone app in which users can capture short videos of themselves, usually lip syncing or dancing to popular songs. The app has attracted a large following of mostly younger users in recent years.

Blake Chandlee, TikTok's vice president of global business solutions, wrote in a blog post that the company has chosen not to allow ads on its platform from any politicians or candidates at the federal, state or local levels, as well as advocacy or issue ads.